2018 Honda CB1000R goes retro?

Honda is currently working on the next-generation CB1000R to release next year. The bike was first launched in 2007 and as you probably know, hasn’t received many changes since then. Reports claim that the 2018 model will debut at this year’s EICMA and that it will have a vastly different design.

Price in UK

£ 10,999.00

Price in USA

£ 10,999.00

Release date

2018

Engine power

158 bhp*

2018 Honda CB1000R design

The CB1000R’s design has formed the base (in design) for many of Honda’s existing smaller naked bikes. It has aged gracefully but newer competition, including the MT-10 makes it harder for the bike to continue as is. Further, the CBR1000RR has already received an update, so a naked version is usually not far behind.

As said, there are rumours that Honda’s new liter-class naked will have a retro touch, with circular headlamps and angular design elements. The manufacturer’s Italian R&D team has been given the job of designing the bike. Some of their works include the CB4 Concept (revealed back in 2015) and CB1100TR concept from last year. The latter, as per Honda, was made for a ‘bit of fun’ and not for production.

Our take on the rumors: There is no concrete evidence to suggest that the Honda CB1000R will have a retro design. It faces off against bike like the Yamaha MT-10, the BMW’s S1000R and KTM SuperDuke 1290, all of which are proper streetfighters. A retro CB1000R, while unique, won’t fit with the specifics of the segment and will be against the wishes of people looking in the segment.

The rumors do originate from some very respectable sources, so there may be slight retro aspect incorporated into the bike’s design, but expect nothing as profound as the image above. There’s also possibility that the bike (with retro design) might be a new model or a variant of the CB1000.

2018 Honda CB1000R Engine and Specification

The current CB1000R’s mill has its roots in the original 2007 model. It produces 130bhp, which looks good on paper but fade when comparing with competition, most of which produce above 160 bhp. So the 2018 Hondar CB1000R will come with a detuned version of the new CBR1000RR’s 1.0L mill, expected to produce close to 158bhp. It will also be significantly lighter than competition, adopting frame, suspension and other component for the faired sibling.

The CB1000R’s age can be seen in its features, or rather from the lack of them. So it goes without saying that a superior electronic package, fit with features like fly-by-wire throttle, torque control, wheelie control, traction control and an optional quickshifter/auto-blipper will be part of the bike on its launch.

The 2017 Honda CBR1000RR comes with not one, but two ‘SP’ variants and there’s no reason why the naked version shouldn’t receive at least one of them. Yamaha already has the MT-10 SP in this space.

2018 Honda CB1000R price and release date

The new CB1000R will obviously be priced slightly higher, near the MT-10. The bike will debut at the EICMA 2017 in November and will officially launch in most markets including Europe and USA by early 2019.

2018 Honda CB1000R India

The new CB1000 is likely to come to India, especially since the current model is available in the country. Its prices could be pushed towards the 14-15 lakh range, as similar increase was seen on its faired variant.